A/N: Not a huge chapter but a sweet one. :)
Andy woke up to an empty bed. She rolled over and sat up. His side of the duvet was pushed aside and his part of the bed was still warm. She could hear the shower running so she lay back down on the bed with her arms flung over her head. She stared at the ceiling and closed her eyes over. Soon after the water stopped running she heard him walking around in the hallway. He seemed to go in and out of the bathroom a hundred times before the bedroom door opened.
She lifted her head to smile at him but his head was bowed as he crossed the room to his wardrobe. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and his hair was tousled from being rubbed with another towel. He rifled through his clothes and pulled out a top and a pair of jeans Then he walked over to a chest of drawers and grabbed a pair of boxers and some socks. With all of this tossed onto a chair by the window he dropped the towel he was wearing and slipped into his boxers.
"I was nine." He spoke so softly his voice was but a whisper. Andy wasn't sure if she heard it and she sat up in bed to see if he would continue to talk. "Sarah was 13. " He pulled on a pair of jeans but left them unfastened as he sat on the edge of the bed.
Andy backed away to give him more room. She hugged her knees to her chest and watched him. He lifted one foot up and pulled on a sock, then the other. With both feet on the ground he stretched to the chair to grab his top. It was a light blue long sleeved tee. When he had it on he let his hands drop between his knees and stared out the window.
"She was on her way home from scouts group. She had taken this journey a hundred times. The number 13 to West hill, then the 54 to Malvern." He was still whispering. His left leg started to bounce on the ball of his foot. "She got off the bus. At the park and only had about 2 blocks to walk. That's when it happened."
Andy wanted to reach out to him. Hold his hand, squeeze his arm but she was afraid to break the spell his voice was casting.
"I was too young to really understand what was happening, all I knew was she had changed. That's when the dreams started. Always the same. Her screaming for me, asking for my help but I can't find her. I can't reach her…I can't save her." His voice was trembling with the effort of talking, of keeping control and when he filled his lungs with one shaky breath she couldn't stand it any more She reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. Instantly he turned towards it and leaned closer to her. She dropped her legs and crossed them, Indian style and he rested his head in her lap. The tears came silently but his whole body rattled with emotion. His hands came up to grip her legs, holding onto her so tight as if he was afraid she would disappear.
Once the tears started Sam found that he couldn't stop them. He had lost control of it and he was too tired to fight for it back. Her hands were in his hair, on his back, rubbing him tenderly and she made soft soothing noises as she leaned down to kiss his head. He didn't know how much time had passed but eventually his tears dried up though his breathing was still ragged. He rolled off her lap and lay flat on his back next to her. He had one arm over his head, his face covered in the crux of his elbow and the other hand was flat on his chest. Andy straightened her legs and moved down the bed to align herself next to him. He moved his arm and pulled her into a hug and they lay there silently for a moment more.
"Thanks," he said and he kissed her forehead. Andy didn't reply, she squeezed him closer and kissed his shoulder. "I don't…I've never…talked about it."
"Never?"
"Sarah was in therapy for a while, and I went too when I was younger. My mom tried to get me to go again when…the dreams got out of control…but it didn't work for me."
"It's not for everyone."
"No, it's not." Sam kissed her head again then slipped his arm out from under her and sat up. He shuffled to the end of the bed then stood, with a long languid stretch. "You working today?"
And just like that Andy knew the topic had been changed. He would bring it up again when he wanted and there was nothing she could do to change that.
"Not today. I'm starting nights tomorrow."
"I have nights today."
Andy was sitting on the bed watching as he rubbed his face, pressed the heel of his hands into his eyes then shook his head as if to rid himself of the sticky tendrils of emotion that clung there. He fixed his jeans and fastened his belt then came round to her side of the bed. He leaned down close enough to kiss her on the lips then pulled back enough to talk to her. "Get up, I'll make you breakfast." Sam smiled against her lips then kissed her again. "I left some towels in the bathroom, take a shower and come down when you are ready."
Sam stood up and walked out of the room. Andy took a moment to process all that had happened after he left then went to shower. Sam was downstairs in the kitchen cooking pancakes when his mobile rang in the living room. He raced in to get it and carried it back to the kitchen to answer while he was cooking.
"Hello."
"Sam."
"Sarah, morning."
"Morning, its after 1 in the afternoon."
"Oh…shifts, I lose track of time."
"How are you?"
"I'm good."
"You sound a lot better than you have done."
Andy was out of the shower and dressed. She came downstairs and went to the kitchen where Sam was leaning against the fridge with his shoulder. She didn't notice he was on the phone as she came up behind him and snaked her arms around him. Sam let out a little yelp and tried to disguise it as a cough.
"Sam? What's that?"
"Hmmm? Oh no I'm just making breakfast…or even lunch." He turned in the circle of Andy's arms and smiled down at her but make a "silence" gesture with his forefinger to his lips.
"You have someone there? Are you entertaining? And making breakfast?" Sarah was laughing and even Andy could hear it over the phone.
"I'll call you later yeah."
"Sure Sam, talk to you later. Nice to hear you sounding so happy."
Sam looked down at Andy who was smiling up at him. "Yeah, it is." He hung up the phone and wrapped his arms around her. He leaned down and kissed her.
"Sorry, I didn't realise you were on the phone."
"It's ok," he shook his head and smiled. "It was Sarah. She has been calling me a lot lately."
"She is worried about you."
"I know. She doesn't need to be."
"Doesn't she?"
"No." he kissed her again. "No she doesn't." This time when he kissed her she didn't let him break it. She let her hands circle his neck and deepened the kiss. Her tongue parted his lips and he sighed into her mouth at the sensation. His hands moved from her waist to her hips then curled round to her ass. She had taken her shower but got back into the shorts and tank top. Her hair was wet and left drops on her back and shoulders.
She pushed him forward until they got to the kitchen table and chairs. She broke the kiss long enough to push him into the chair and straddled his lap then kissed him again. Sam let her take control; his hands came to her thighs. She had her hands on his shoulders and she moved her hips against him. It wasn't long before he was squirming beneath her and his hands became more active in their ministrations. They ran up her back over her top, then sank to the cuff and ran up again touching her skin. She arched her back under his touch, inadvertently pressing her breasts into his chest.
With a growl he pulled the flimsy top off. Her hands went to his jeans and she pulled his belt loose. She fumbled with his buttons but her fingers were losing dexterity as he grasped her breasts with his hands and lips, an assault that was distracting her beyond reason. When her hips rolled over his now heavy erection he had to grab her to still her. He lifted her off his lap and stood with her. He kissed her as he opened his own jeans and dropped them and his boxers to his ankles and kicked them aside, and then pulled her back to him. He yanked her shorts down then sat back into the chair. She sat on his lap again.
She hovered over him and he kissed her softly. She yanked his top off and tossed it to the floor. His lips moved slowly as his fingers made slow circles on the small of her back. Her hands ran down his chest , her nails raking an tingling his skin all the way past his navel and she grasped his penis in a leisurely tight grip. Sam tried to keep his hips still but the pressure was too much and he lifted his hips, pushing himself into her hands. The sensation was amazing but it wasn't what he was looking for.
Andy arched her back and he dropped her head to her breasts again. Then while he was concentrating on his tongue rasping across her nipples she guided him into her entrance and sat down fully. They both moaned and tossed their heads back and Sam's fingers gripped her hips so hard she was sure he would leave a mark.
After what felt like an infinity of being still had passed Sam urged her to move above him. He pulled her forward and back, used her hips for leverage and set a lazy pace. Nothing was going to make him hurry this. His whole body was aching with need. He wanted to slam into her, push her against the wall, the floor, anything that would give him purchase and surely that release would be powerful but right now, all he wanted was this. He never wanted this to end. Slow, circular motions, her breasts bounced against his chest, the friction almost burned. Her hands were on his shoulders, in his hair, her lips were on his neck, his mouth.
Her panting became moans, her moans quickened, her fingers gripped his tighter. She tried to quicken the pace but he wouldn't let her.
"No…" he whispered between ragged breaths. "Not yet…" He was fit to explode. Then when she started to quiver and shake he smiled. He licked a long wet trail from deep in the crevice of her breasts, up her chest, her neck and to the underside of her chin.
"Ohhhhh." Her moan came out in a single breath as her lungs emptied and her body was overwhelmed with a warm tingling. Sam felt her quiver all through his groin and he knew he was a goner. He started to move her faster. Her legs and turned to jelly and she held on as best she could as he bucked beneath her, faster and harder. He put one arm around her waist, held her close and the other braced her against him along the top of her shoulders. It wasn't long before he was on the edge and to his delight he felt her squirm and quiver around him again.
This time as her quiver enveloped him he didn't hold back, he pumped against her a few times more and finally he was spent with a guttural moan. His breathing was erratic and he rested his forehead on the top of her chest.
They stayed seated in the chair for a long while afterwards and he only moved when he felt her shiver in the cold kitchen.
"Sorry! You're cold!" He stood an lifted her then dropped her to her feet, making her body graze all the way down. "Here," he said and he handed her his long sleeve tee. She put it on and it came down to her mid-thigh.
"What about you?"
"I've got you to keep me warm."
He circled his arms around her, spread his legs so she could step in closer then swayed left to right to music she couldn't hear. Sam smile down at her and kissed her again.
"That was a pretty good breakfast." She said with a smile.
"I told you I could cook."